A modern translation of one of the finest works of the great
historian Jacob Burckhardt, who looked at history not by way of
cold documentation, but through the prism of art and individual
psychology - not for nothing was he a colleague of Nietzsche. In
its time this was a truly astonishing book, revealing Greece not so
much as the beneficent cradle of democracy as a state in which
personal freedom was minimal, demagogues misled the public and the
people in general were quite literally suicidal with depression. It
is still a startling book, and in this new and admirable
translation should be read by anyone seriously interested in the
contribution Greek civilization made to the Western way of life.
(Kirkus UK)
For the first time in English, one of the greatest masterpieces of
historical writing: 'Every civilized library must have a copy.'
CHRISTOPHER STACE, Telegraph 'A wonderfully fat and vivid reminder
of the splendour and miseries of Hellenism...enlightened and
enlightening, a joy to read, delicious with anecdotes and a
manifest labour of love, candour and openmindedness.' FREDERIC
RAPHAEL, Sunday Times Jacob Burckhardt (1818-97) was one of the
greatest historians of classical and Renaissance art, architecture
and culture. Though he died over a hundred years ago, his superb
prose is as fresh and readable today as it was at the end of the
nineteenth century. The Greeks and Greek Civilization describes, in
glorious, elegant detail, the lives of the ancient Greeks and the
origins of their culture.The book has never appeared before in
English. Oswyn Murray, the book's editor, and his translator,
Sheila Stern, have been labouring for many years on the text and
now, finally, have ready an authoritative version which, in Oswyn
Murray's words, 'remains the best account of Greek civilization.'
'His changes in tone, the sudden plunge from the grandest to the
most minor themes, the zooming in and out from the broadest
panoramas to a particular carpet on a particular floor, the
massiveness of his project and the lightness with which he
accomplishes it, not to mention his vast knowledge, his clear
style, his precision and his general surefootedness, are what makes
Burckhardt great in a way that is not so different from the way
Shakespeare is great or Rembrandt or Beethoven. He created vast
spaces in history, heights and depths, enormous ranges of pitch and
timbre, sunny clearings in the midst of impenetrable gloom...Thanks
to the efforts of Oswyn Murray and Sheila Stern, a Great Blue Whale
is swimming for the first time in English waters. Tiddlers
everywhere should be pleased to accept the invitation to swim in
its posthumous wake.' JAMES DAVIDSON, London Review of Books
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
(1)
